Darren Collison to Portland?

Agree with Soccal. While Collison is not a dominant scorer, he's quick and very steady ballhandler, solid shot. Howland UCLA teams are pretty conservative offensively and tend to drive down individual scoring stats. But his 'training' is for real: all the recent UCLA grads (Afflalo, Farmar, Westbrook, Luc, and, yes, Love) made the transition to NBA defense quicker (by mid first season) than others (e.g., Beasley, Noah). A good match to a Blazers team that has streak scorers. But think Patrick Mills at the Olympics versus Chris Paul - more scoring, but probably not as proven as Collison in d and assists.

Collison is going to be a Brevin Knight type of player in the league, but with a better offensive game.

Keep in mind that Howland's "D" first "O" a very distant second style of play has maksed the talents of some very solid pros. Look at the NBA rosters and you'll find UCLA after UCLA player that Howland hand picked. Holiday is going to blossom at the next level and Luc Richard is going to have a very solid career.

Not saying he is like Dean Smith, but Howland's system (like Smith's) really hides the talents of his players. Why do you think Ariza bolted after one year? The track record can't be ignored: Farmar, Ariza, Afflalo, K-Love, Westbrook and Luc Richard are quielty making Howland the man to seek out if you want a good job after college. You listening Coach K?

Seriosuly though, Bayless is going to be nice. Don't assume that he's a lost cause just cause some Disney Sports writer says so.

Outplayed by Westbrook and Holiday....in what way? Surely not stat wise. Collison averaged more points than Westbrook in 07-08 (eventhough he was a pass first, shoot 2nd pg.) Westbrook was the exact opposite.

And to say that he got outplayed by Holiday is a complete Fallacy! I agree, Holiday had all the hype. But take Collison off of UCLA the past 3 years and Farmar's inability to play defense against quicker pgs would have been exposed (05-06), Afflalo would never have gotten a shot off (06-07) Westbrook's inability to run a team would have been exposed (07-08). And this past season Holiday would have proved he is not even in the same category. I challenge anyone to show me using stats from last season....how Holiday is better than Collison right now? He isn't.

As for Westbrook, He and Collison worked well together because Westbrook is a natural scorer, not a pg. And with that being said, Collison still averaged more points and shot a better % than Westbrook and Holiday from everywhere on the court (2s, 3s, ft).

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Darren Collison were the main reasons UCLA went to the final 4 3 straight years because Luc did all the dirty work inside and Darren did all the little things on the perimeter. They may not be flashy but they sure as hell win games. Last time I checked, Luc was starting over Alexander eventhough Alexander was drafted in the lottery and Luc went in the 2nd round.

Collison few poor performances just happen to come when everyone was watching. He is paying for that now. But believe me, skills don't lie. He is one of the best pure pg in the draft. He can run a team, play defense, make good decisions, and shoot a high percentage.....and he can win!

If a team passes on Collison because of the lack of flashiness, then they deserve to loose. There is a reason the same teams pick early in the draft year after year.

Collison is just average in my opinion. Might make an ok backup in the league, but lacks strength and court awareness in my opinion.